


stars in your eyes

by ksyy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, I Don't Even Know, Light Angst, M/M, Non-Sexual Slavery, Pining, Slavery, Spy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:34:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26179582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksyy/pseuds/ksyy
Summary: Kei was a member of a political organization. Their goal? To take down the king Yamaguchi, who was known in every part of the world as the most terrifying ruler, and all of the ones who lived in his kingdom talked about the horrendous things the king did.He was chosen to be a spy in the king's castle, however, he didn't expect to discover that Tadashi was a kind person, who was anything but cruel as he heard his entire life.He didn't expect to fall in love in the process, too.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24
Collections: TsukkiYama Week 2020





	stars in your eyes

Kei was a member of a political organization. Their goal? Take down the king Yamaguchi, who was known in every part of the world as the most terrifying ruler, and all of the ones who lived in his kingdom talked about the horrendous things the king did. 

The slaves sellers would arrest young talented artists, inventors, and much more to work as slaves in his immense castle since he liked these creative people. They never came back to tell what happened inside there. And talking about it, the king had a mesmerizing number of slaves in his palace, too. The entire kingdom talked about how cruel the king was for buying so many of them, of all ages and even kids, and wished that slavery would finally end. Beyond that, the king was a mysterious person. Nobody ever saw his face, but what was known was that he was a young male, around 19 years old, and that he assumed the throne after his parents died. Whenever a proclamation would be done, someone from the committee would do it instead of him, repassing his demand for new taxes and making the food more expensive. 

Kei and his teammates wanted to take him down and assume the throne in his place. And they finally had a perfect plan to do that: someone had to be a spy. There were infiltered people inside the committee, but they never were even able to talk directly with the king, they weren't in a high position to do it. They needed someone to be close to the king, gain his trust, and then kill him as soon as the chance came. Guess who was chosen to be the spy? Yes, Tsukishima. 

His intelligence and strategic skills always stood out, and since the king always bought the most talented slaves, the organization was sure he would be chosen to work in the castle. After some days of planning, they went to their encounter point with the slave dealers and pretended they were selling him to them. He was disguised, wearing old clothes and using some paint as bruises. After a small introduction, the members of the organization putting way too much emphasis on his skills, he was bought by them. Later, they took him to a dark room. And then his journey started. He heard one of the men that bought him talking about taking him to the palace for the next sale. The next day, he had to take a shower and go into a carriage, noticing he wasn't going to the palace alone. A small, orange-haired boy was there too. He seemed scared. Kei didn't say anything, just waited until they arrived at the castle, that seemed bigger in person than in the paintings.

They were taken to the entrance, a white-haired man was standing there and a tall knight. The smaller one didn't say a word to the slave dealers, just gave them some money and waited for them to leave, standing in front of Kei and the small boy, who now was almost trembling in fear.

After the men were gone, the white-haired sighed. He gave a smile to one of the knights.

"Did you see that one's face, Daichi? He seemed like he just had an arm cut off. Honestly, what's their problem? They're all grumpy." he laughed. The knight, that before had a serious face and cold eyes, was now smiling and laughing too.

"Yes, yes. Even Kageyama is grumpy, and he is one of us." the knight said.

"The last week's one seemed like he drank an entire chili soup. He made such weird faces." now, it was one of the patrol knights, a black-haired one, that had a smirk on his face.

Kei didn't pay attention to the patrol knights, but they were around the entire castle, and when he looked up, there were more at the top of the walls. The castle was giant, something like ten times he height, and he was very tall.

"No wonder why the king is one of the only ones that buy slaves in this country, these guys scare off anyone..." the black-haired patrol knight said again.

He stopped, noticing that the slaves were confused with the situation. You probably don't expect such easy-going people when you are a slave and going to work in the castle of a cruel king.

"Hey Suga, shouldn't you take them inside?" 

"Oh, that's true! Bye guys, see you tonight." he said, going to the door and holding both of the slave's hands, which made Kei surprised.

What the fuck was happening?

The door was slightly open and they entered. The view inside was not how Tsukishima expected it to be.

It was a really big garden, with trees, flowers, benches, and even a playground. There were a lot of kids running there, they were screaming, not of pain due to torture how the stories about the castle said, but they were shouting at each other, playing, happy. The orange-haired boy had a hopeful look on his eyes as if he was searching for someone.

"Welcome to the castle. You're probably afraid since the stories about this place are a bit terrifying, but trust me, this is one of the best places in the kingdom." he gave them a warm smile, and took the orange hair boy's hand.

"You're Hinata, right?" the boy nodded, squeezing the other's hand. "Your sister was taken by those bastards, but Kageyama made her come here. She is okay, don't worry. And probably, Natsu is right there, playing with the other kids. That's her favorite spot." he pointed at the playground.

"Thank you!" Hinata now was fully energized, and somehow almost crying at the same time "Can I...?"

"Sure. Go find her, she's been asking for you. There are some caretakers there, talk to them if you have any questions."

As soon as the man finished, Hinata ran to the playground, saying "Thank you!" over his shoulder.

"And you are...?"

"Tsukishima Kei." he said, seeing how his voice was different since he didn't talk to anyone within the last two days.

"Well, pleased to meet you. I'm Sugawara Koushi, I was taken here as a slave, like you. You're confused, I can see it written on your face." he laughed.

Tsukishima cleared his throat before answering.

"Yeah... it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be like..."

"I'll give you a small explanation. Yamaguchi doesn't rule the kingdom, who does it is the committee. He being the king is just a mask for them to use his name however they want and put all the bad things they do as his fault." Sugawara started to blurt as if he was talking about something mundane, like the weather changes.

"What?"

"And the slaves he buys are not tortured or forced to work until they die. In fact, he buys so many slaves so he can save them from actually being tortured and stuff in the houses of the riches. Here, we live a pretty good life. There's food, friends, we can do a lot of things."

"Excuse me, I don't..." 

"Don't worry, Tadashi meets personally with each of the new slaves. Oh, and don't use the word slave. We don't consider ourselves slaves here, it's more like... residents."

Kei didn't say anything. He was so confused with that bomb of information. The Yamaguchi he was supposed to kill was a cruel person, not someone who makes his castle a home for those who are forced into slavery. But that couldn't be true. How the entire kingdom didn't know about this information? How didn't even his teammates that worked in the committee know about it? Sugawara probably was under the effect of some delusional drug or was forced to say it. But he didn't look like he wasn't okay, he looked perfectly fine... 

"We're here. When you enter, Yachi will probably be already waiting. If not, tell any of them that you are new here and that Sugawara sent you. I'll be leaving for now." Tsukishima was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't notice they already crossed the entire garden (that was huge).

"Wait...!"

"And before I forget, you probably will meet Yamaguchi tonight. He would talk with you as soon as you arrived, but he's dealing with some things now. Well then, bye bye!" the boy ran to the other side of the garden, to where Hinata went before, Kei left alone, and he put all his worries aside and pushed the door open.

He would meet Yamaguchi and be sure of what was told him his entire life was right. That he was a cruel person. And he would, definitely, gain his trust and kill him.

Although he didn't show it at all, Kei was really nervous about the meeting with the king. Not because o the fact of meeting one of the most famous kings in the world — maybe that too — but because every time he spoke to one of the slaves, no, the residents, all of them said good things about the damn king. Could it be that they were all drugged? At the same time? The meeting could be a determining encounter with his rival or it could put everything he believed and learned during his entire life in check. The last option was, for him, the most impossible one. But during that day, so many people said good things about the king that he started to doubt himself.

* * *

And there was him now, in front of the king's room, gathering the courage to knock on the door. The king was cruel. Cold. Merciless. All those people just said those things because they were influenced. There was absolutely no way the entire kingdom was wrong about their own ruler. There was no way he was wrong about it. He took a deep breath, three knocks.

No answer. Steps.

The door suddenly was open. 

"You must be Tsukishima-san, right? Come in, please."

His first impression of the king made him worried. He didn't expect Yamaguchi to be smaller than him, neither to have such a... soft face, not one bruised with scars from battles, instead had freckles scattered on his cheeks and it was cute, out of all things that Tsukishima could think of, he thought it looked cute and cursed himself for it... Much less he expected him to be so polite with someone that was supposed to be his slave, nor to smile so often when the image he had on his head was one of a cruel man. What if the things he was told his entire life were actually wrong?

"Tsukishima-san?" a worried voice caught his attention.

His voice too, it wasn't cold or deprived of any emotion. It was, somehow, warm.

He entered the room. Hands sweaty, head lowered. What was he supposed to do?

"Nice to meet you. I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi, but you probably know me already." he laughed at himself, although it seemed sad.

"I.. I do. Nice to meet you, too." Kei said, this time looking the king in the face.

But every time he looked at him, he looked less and less dangerous. In fact, he looked like he needed to be protected.

"Well, I should start with some explanations. The reality is very different from what you learned over the years. It will be a long talk, so feel free to sit anywhere. Oh, do you want tea? "

"No, thank you, your highness." Tsukishima said, the king hummed in response. Kei sat on one of the chairs across a table full of books, papers, and pencils. He waited for the king to sit too, and while he was preparing his tea he used that time to analyze the room.

There were bookshelves all around the place, some paintings were hung on the wall, one of them where he recognized a younger Suga, the same from earlier, and a table near the window hat had more papers and books on it than the one across him, the main table that Kei was sitting in front of. The king finally made his way to his own chair and sipped his tea. 

"Where should I start..." he said, wandering while thinking and looking to the ceiling, then looking back at him after a moment of realization "Well, first of all, I'm not the king. I'm more of a prince. Who rules the kingdom is the committee. They assumed after my parents died and used my name as a way to make me the one at fault for what they do. So, I'm not a merciless, cold-hearted person, I can't even kill an animal, how could I kill a human?" he chuckeçld, taking a sip of his tea again.

Kei couldn't believe that. He had so many questions, but choose to stay quiet. Yet, Tadashi noticed it.

"You seem like you want to ask something. Go on, I don't bite." he said with a small smile, that made Tsukishima want to punch him. 

He shouldn't be that kind. How would Kei kill him if he was that kind?

"Why didn't you take the throne? And why do they use your name?"

"I wasn't raised to be a king. I was the younger son, so my brother was the one who should be the king. And then my..."

There was a long silence before anyone spoke again. Yamaguchi seemed as he had seen a ghost.

"My uncle... he killed... my family. And left me alive. Because he knew I wasn't able to be a king. He knew very well of the atrocities he would do when becoming the ruler, and he knew that the population would be mad at that. So he uses my name and says the committee can't do anything because I am threatening them. I think it's the other way around, though."

"And how doesn't anybody know about it?" he said in spite, slamming his hands on the table and startling Yamaguchi. He cursed himself for it. He was too conflicted, but shouldn't let it show on the outside.

"You see... my uncle often threatens me. Not about killing me, but about killing who lives here." Yamaguchi looked down, a sad smile on his lips as the words left his mouth "I made this, my uncle's old castle, become a way for me to save some of the people that suffer from the slavery that he supports so much since it helps the economy. And from the day I started to be known as someone who had the most slaves in the country, they started to capture those who were talented in some art, because apparently, I'm very fond of it according to them. I felt at fault for being the reason why so many people were taken away from home, and I couldn't let such talented people go to those riches' houses. So I made this a, somehow, school of arts."

Kei wouldn't say it, but he was truly amazed. That seemed real. He couldn't see a lie on his words, it felt so sincere and... melancholic. The prince seemed as if he was on the verge of tears while telling him that. And he didn't know why, but it made him frustrated. 

"Why did you... never show your face?"

"It's something personal. I don't want to be known as the cruel king if someday I have the chance to live a normal life." again, that sad smile on his face. "Besides, I could get killed. And if I got killed, I don't know what would happen to this place."

There was silence again. Kei was facing a mental breakdown, Yamaguchi was worried he made his guest feel uncomfortable. He cleaned his throat and smiled shyly.

"That's the short version. I think you will understand better during your stay here. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, your highness." Kei looked at his feet. He just wanted to be alone and think about everything that happened, and what to do next.

"Then, shall we know each other a little? Please, tell me what you like!" the freckled boy beamed, and Kei winced.

But what about the prize he would receive? The big amount of money? Wasn't that the only reason he accepted the task?

"I'll start." he said, noticing he had no answer "I like reading and writing poems or stories. I like gardening too. And painting. What about you?"

He went to the closest chair to Kei and sat there, by his side, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Tsukishima, I don't bite." that smile again.

That damn smile that seemed so kind and pure. 

Kei instantly decided he hated it.

The money would definitely make his life and his family's better. They wouldn't suffer from the small amount of food they had, neither he would have to work in such an organization as the one he was in.

"The stars. I like them." Tsukishima managed to say, surprised that he told his enemy a secret about him that he never said to anyone. Maybe it was the despair to say something, anything, so Yamaguchi would let him be.

"That's really cool! We have an observatory in one of the towers..."

The money was great. But how was he supposed to kill such a kind-hearted person?

"Would you like to watch the stars with me the next week?" he asked.

Kei looked at him, and he didn't know what look he had on his face, but it was bad enough to make the king's smile fade away instantly.

"Yes, your highness." he spoke, not knowing how to say no to him. After some seconds, he added "May I leave?"

"Uh... yes. As you wish." he answered a little confused.

Kei didn't even say goodbye, but even so, Yamaguchi said "Good night!" to him. He rushed to his room and laid on the bed, thinking about so many things at the same time until he fell asleep.

* * *

It was a cold night and Tsukishima cursed himself for every step he took on his way to the tower. He shouldn't have accepted it, he should have denied it as soon as he could, but the king reminded him every day about it, and even made sure that he had free time to go with him.

It had been a week since their first encounter, and that same night Kei decided that he would kill Tadashi, it didn't matter if he was kind or not. If he killed him, he could take down the committee with his teammates, and they would make the kingdom a better place. He was a logical person, and at that moment that was the most logical decision, and the one he would get benefits from. His brother would live, their country would be free, it all was good.

But he reconsidered his decision every time he bumped into Tadashi on the corridors, the smaller boy asking with excitement:

"Tsukishima! You'll go watch the stars with me, right?" and Kei would answer "Yes" immediately because it was the best way to get closer to him.

But somehow, Tadashi got a liking on him, on everyone to be honest, but it surprised Kei to see someone trying to be his friend, not wanting anything in return. Every night he invited him to his room or the library to read with him, and he never made Tsukishima say anything, just sit silent there with him and enjoy their company. Kei liked it, even if he would never admit.

On the third day, he tried to say something, tried to put his plan to get closer to Yamaguchi in practice, commenting about the book the freckled boy was reading that day. Tadashi was almost sparkling with excitement when he heard his voice, but he settled down and so they talked for hours about literature and history, things they both liked. Tsukishima found himself not bothered by the king's presence as he was with the others, nor when Yamaguchi talked as much as Hinata or Bokuto, the other residents that tried to approach him, and even so Kei liked listening to him. He assumed he accepted Tadashi's behavior because it was necessary too, no way it was because he actually enjoyed being with him. Never.

Days passed and on Friday Yamaguchi knocked on his room at night, slightly opening the door with a smile on his face.

"Can I come in?" he said.

Kei nodded, not taking his eyes from the book he was reading.

Tadashi sat on his bed, not intimidated by the fact that he and Tsukishima weren't close enough for this type of meeting, but he didn't seem like he cared about it all. He smiled as he looked around.

"Who do you share the room with? This side is all neat and that one is a mess" he giggled.

"Bokuto."

Tadashi burst into laughter.

"You and Bokuto sharing a room, that's amazing. How don't you hate each other? You're so different!" he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I hate him and I hope it's mutual." Kei said, and that only made Yamaguchi laugh more.

"Tsukki, don't be like that!" he poked him, and Tsukishima finally looked at him, surprised by the sudden nickname "Well, I came here to tell you that the astronomers from the kingdom informed me that there's a meteor shower on Sunday, at late night. I wanted to know if you will come with me." he said, his expectations showing on his voice as he spoke each word.

"Tsukki?" was all Kei could ask because he truly was shocked by the childish nickname, and it didn't suit him at all.

However, he didn't expect Tadashi to become a blushing mess after the question, neither did he expect to enjoy watching it.

"I-I mean! I thought that. If I gave. You. A nickname... you would... huuuh" he laughed nervously "You know. Feel more... comfortable?" he laughed again and Kei smirked, what made things worse "Well! If you don't like it I can stop!" Tadashi looked away, too embarrassed to say anything.

"That's okay. I don't mind. And..." he thought a bit before finally saying it out loud "I accept. Your invitation, I mean."

Tadashi beamed at him, forgetting the blush or the embarrassment.

"Yes!" he celebrated with his hands "I will send you a map with some instructions because we will go to a... secret tower!" he blinked at him.

Kei laughed at how happy he was with so little.

"Well then, I shouldn't disturb you. I will be going by now." Tadashi said as he got up.

"Good night." Tsukishima waved at him. He smiled in response and left.

Then Kei noticed how wrong he was to accept it, to enjoy being with him, to let the king call him by that stupid nickname. He shouldn't get close to him, he should kill him. The quicker he did it, the better, he thought. The quicker, the less suffering he would have. Tadashi was a good person indeed, he knew it by the fact that even if he was a king, every day he sat with all the slaves on his huge table with hundreds of chairs around it, he knew each name of the people there and always smiled at any occasion and whoever was the person, even if they didn't smile back. He was a good person and the good people are the ones who suffer the most; Tsukishima was taught wrong about him, but that didn't change the fact that he would die soon. Kei would make it happen. For his family, for his brother, for his kingdom. And to do it he needed to fake a little friendship, the invitation was a good chance to get closer to him.

And now, as he got closer to the tower, following the instructions on the map, he regretted accepting it because it would make the boy thinks he is his friend, and although it was good for his plan, he didn't want it because killing him would be harder that way. That was something that annoyed him; he was used to dealing with things the most coldly and distantly he could, he had killed people before, but they all deserved it. He just couldn't imagine him killing Yamaguchi when he was such a kind person, but he reminded himself that it was a necessary sacrifice. He needed to do it, and that's the reason he bought a knife with him, just in case he had the chance to do something.

When he finally arrived at the door that led to the tower, he opened it slowly and the sight he had was Tadashi alone, sitting on a small bench while looking through the telescope, the moonlight on him making the view much more beautiful than it already was.

He looked up when he heard Kei walking in, getting up immediately and letting his notebook fall on the ground.

"Tsukki! You came! Here, I got you a bench too!" he smiled as he pushed Kei to sit with him. "I was really happy when you said you liked stars because I love researching about them!" and then Tadashi started to talk non-stop about his favorite constellations and stars, the planets, and the moon.

Kei didn't participate that much in the conversation, only hummed and nodded sometimes, saying something only when necessary. He was focused on how he was alone with Tadashi in a tower that wasn't easily accessed, and it was perfect to kill him right there and run away, as he planned. He would do it when Yamaguchi got distracted and that way he wouldn't make a sound. So he waited, but even if he wasn't paying much attention to whatever it was that Tadashi was saying, he still found out by the small parts he heard that the freckled boy's favorite constellation was the Sagittarius one, his favorite star was Sirius, and his favorite planet was Venus. Curious taste, he thought.

Then, suddenly, Yamaguchi got up, making the bench fall and looking at the sky, amazed. Kei got up too, getting ready to put his plan in action and putting his hand on the knife.

"Look, Tsukki!" he said beaming, looking through the telescope while Kei already had the knife in his hands, he was getting dangerously closer, repeating on his mind I can do it, I can do it, I can...

Yamaguchi suddenly turned to him, taking his left hand as Kei retreated the right one, hiding the knife, and Tadashi didn't notice because he was looking at his eyes, a smile on his face, not knowing anything about what Tsukishima was about to do with him.

"It's beautiful, right?" he asked, that smile that never left his face. Not like the sad ones he gave him on the first day they met, while he told him his story, but a genuine one that he discovered that day that he liked. He liked it a lot. Way too much.

They were close, and Kei could see the freckles on his skin, shining under the moonlight, and the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. It was all too quick, but he saw Orion, and the Scorpio constellations there, near his right eye, and before he could search for more, he noticed he was staring too much.

"Y-yeah." he cleared his throat, not taking his eyes from Tadashi.

He sighed in relief when Yamaguchi made him look through the telescope, and he noticed Orion, the same constellation that he found on Tadashi's skin.

He wondered how many other constellations he would find if he could. The knife's weight on his back, making its presence clear, made him forget the idea.

By his side, Tadashi smiled as if it was the happiest day of his life, and Kei grinned a little at the sight.

* * *

Tsukishima did his best to forget about that night and to keep up with his plan. It had been a month already since that day and he got so close to Tadashi that he could have killed him so many times, whenever they were together and alone. However, Kei never was able to do it. He found out that he couldn't kill Tadashi when he was sleeping, neither when they were together hanging out and alone, nor when he had the perfect chance and he remembered Tadashi's smile and it was unbearable adorable and he...

Well, he couldn't bring himself to do it, and he was getting annoyed at it because he was one of the bests on his team and always did a quick job. He never got attached to his victims and he didn't know when or why or how it happened, but he and Tadashi became something like friends. He enjoyed his presence and hanging out with him, and although he talked so much, it never bothered him; after some time he even started to get along on the conversations too. It was dangerous to be that close, and if someone from the organization found out, it would be really bad for his family. To his brother. Remembering his brother always made him guilty because the money would definitely save him, but it was him or Tadashi, and he couldn't choose between two lives that didn't deserve the death.

How unfair could the world be?

Kei sighed, looking at the ceiling of his room. The door was open and Bokuto entered, with Akaashi by his side. Tsukishima winced, having his alone time interrupted.

"Keeeei!" Bokuto jumped on his bed and smirked seeing that he succeeded in annoying the blonde.

"What." he said harshly, pushing him to the side so he could be alone again.

"Why are you so mean! You're a demon with everyone but your silly boyfriend!" Koutarou bounced, feigning that he was angry, but he was smiling a little.

Tsukishima, however, was shocked at the "boyfriend" part.

"What?" he asked in confusion, and Bokuto smiled victoriously.

"Don't you ever say something different? It's always what, what, what..."

Akaashi laughed at the scene.

"Boyfriend? What boyfriend? I don't have one, stupid."

"Awn, Kei, you don't need to fake it anymore. Everyone in the castle is talking about how you and Yama are so so sooo close and that you're dating! Kenma even saw you going to his room at night!"

"Wait, no! We're not dating. And that day I..." that day he went there to kill Tadashi while he was asleep, but couldn't and went back to his room minutes later, but he figured that he needed an excuse "I went there to give his book back. That's it!" he tried to sound as sincere he could, but it didn't seem to have any effect on Bokuto.

"Pffft! Okay, nice one. I'll pretend I believe you." Koutarou turned to his side of the room, searching for something.

"But it's true!" Tsukishima said louder, annoyed at how stubborn Bokuto was.

When the white-haired boy finally found what he needed, he left the room waving way too friendly at Kei and with that smirk on his face that the blonde hated.

Then he thought again. Were he and Tadashi that close? So close that the residents thought they were dating?

And why the idea was something that he could imagine?

Why did he imagine him and Tadashi dating? What was wrong with him?

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked...?
> 
> this is a prologue. i don't really know if someday i'll finish this or if I'll continue it, but if you would like to read the entire story, please comment!! this way I'll know you liked
> 
> check my other fics for this tskyweek!! and follow my twitter @luliyts
> 
> byee, I hope you all enjoyed all the amazing works for this week
> 
> see ya


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